Ahhhh, the irony…

The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the “main” Atlanta newspaper, reports that First Lady Laura Bush said Tuesday that human rights in Iraq stand a better chance because women hold nearly one-third of the seats in the interim assembly that will oversee drafting a constitution.
Right on.
The article continued quoting Mrs. Bush in saying that her husband’s democracy program was part of a larger effort to support women across the Middle East and North Africa, and quoted Condoleezza Rice as saying, “We are hoping to create opportunities for all Muslim women to participate fully in the lives of their nations.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. This is necessary, encouraging, comendable and well-overdue. But I can’t help thinking it’s ironic (in a pathetic, not humorous way).
The Bush administration has been atrocious to women domestically, but even worse in the international sphere. Bush cut funding for the United Nations Population Fund which funds maternity hospitals, family planning, emergency birth kits for refugees, and other international women’s issues (not necessarily related to abortion). The Fund even tried to help decrease the number of abortions under China’s restrictive family planning policy.
And that’s just one example.
Maybe next time Mrs. Bush gives a speech about the importance of women’s rights, it should be to her husband.